Apparatus for casting ordnance



(No Mdel.) l e 'sheets-'Sheet 4.

R. J. GATLING. APPARATUS FOR CASTING ORDNANCE. 1 No'. 880,756. P atentedApr. l0, 1888.

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6 G., N I L T A G .IM R.

(No Model.)

APPARATUS FOR CASTING ORDNANG.

N. PETERS. Phawmnogmpner. wnslnngwn, D. cV

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 6.

, R. J. GATLING.

. A1 PARATUS POR CASTING ORDNANGB.

No. 380,756. Ptented Apr. 10,1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD' J. GATLING, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

APPARATUS FOR CASTING ORDNANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters atent No. 380,756, dated April 10, 1883.

Application tiled July 23, 1887. Serial No. 245,085. (No model.)

for Casting Ordnance, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, whereby any one skilled in the art can make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus by the use of which large guns of peculiar construction may be formed by casting; and my invention consists in the combination of the shape-defining jacket, the moldsupports, and the sectional mold with the core and its supporting devices; and it further consists in the combination and arrangement of the sectional flask, the pit, and the peculiar braces and'supports; and it still further consists in other details of the several parts of the pit, core, and connected apparatus and their shape.

combination, as more particularly hereinafter described, and pointed out'in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a detail view, in vertical section, of the gun-pit with the mold removed. Fig. 2 is a detail view, in vertical section, of a pool or basin for molten metal. Fig. 3 is a detail view, in vertical section, of the pit with parts of the flask shown, all of one runway and part of another being also shown in this view, the plane of section being at right angles to the plane of the section shown in Fig. 1. view, in vertical central section, of the pit and its parts, showing the rough gun as cast to Fig. 5 is a view in horizontal section through the pit, dask, and gun-mold, passing through the bottom of the runways, and on i plane denoted by line as x of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a top or plan view of the pit and connected parts. Fig. 7 is a detail view, in horizontal section, through the liask and gun-mold on a plane passing through the axis of the trunnions. l Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of a section of the gunvllask with one brace attached.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A denotes the gun-pit, that is sheathed, as with brick-work and ironplates, and is made watertight.

B denotes a central chamber directly under the flask, to which access may be had through Fig. 4 is a detail,

is of great strength, and may be turned or cast to shape, is placed on the door of" the pit in the center, and on it is located a bearer-plate, c', the two plates being kept from sliding on each other by the hollow stud d, that passes through the central opening in the plates. On the upper surface of this stud is formed a coresocket, d', into which the bottom end of the core or tube e is inserted and held against sidewise play or movement. A bolt,f, is fitted in the hollow stud, and its threaded end extends above the latter and takes into a threaded socket in the lower end of the core or tube e, while the lower end of the bolt, that is also th readed,has fitted upon it a nut, f that serves to lock these several parts firmly together. This core or tube e is made `of steel formed to shape by rolling or hammering, and is thoroughly tested before it is placed in position to form the core of agun. The lower end of this core is firmly held on the base-plate within the pit, as already described, while its upper end passes through a central opening in the brace G, that extends across the mouth of the pit, and is so formed as to hold the core or tube in a vertical position. The base-plate and brace are also used to hold in exact position in re- The flask I is made in sections, and is of 9o iron cast to shape, each liask-section being in length but a fractional part of the whole mold, and forming ahalf ofthe cylinder, as is clearly shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings. Each flask is provided where it joins the adjacent sec tion with an annular groove, i', in what may be called the neck77 of the section, the said groove being formed on the outside of one section and on the inside of the next section, so that interlocking lianges t are provided, in order that when the several flask-sections are itted together these interlocking parts will hold the flask-sections together against any strain that tends to pull them apart lengthwise, and the several parts of each section are bolted together so as to form complete annular sections, and in building up the flask the lower one is of course rst inserted. This lower section, as shown in Fig. 3, is provided with projections that form elbows, to which the ends of the runways D are connected, and through these projections and the runways the metal is poured into the tlask. It will be seen that the inlets i, with which the runways connect, are located tangentially of the flask, so that the metal as it enters will be caused to move in a circle about the core, and will be given a rotary or spiral movement that will prevent the formation of bubbles, and will aid in causing the molten metal to weld into the outer surface of the steel core or tube and form a more perfect union therewith than would be otherwise possible.

'Ihe space between the outside of the jacket 7L and the inside of the iiask is filled with sand in the usual manner, the vent-pipes k, extending throughout the mass of sand, being perforated, so as to form an outlet for the gas that passes into the pipes and out through the upper end located above the cover of the pit.

This carries off all gases that may be formed' within the mass of sand by the great heat of the molten mass of metal, and for a similar purpose the vent-pipes k are extended from -the tops of the trunnions out through and be yond the mold.

The runways are built up in sections with interlocking lianges on the sections in a manner similar to that already described with reference to the flask, and the several parts of the sections are bolted together by bolts passing through the holes in the flanges. (Clearly shown in the drawings.) These runways are supported and secured against displacement by braces Z, that extend from the runways to the flask and to the bottom and sides of the pit at suitable points, and as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, while the flask is braced and supported by the braces Z, that, at suitable points in their length, have an offset or bend, ZZ, to provide for the expansion of the liask due to the increased temperature when molten metal is poured in.

The gun-pit, near the bottom, is provided with an annular fire-box, M, and the combustion of fuel in this hre-box is permitted by the air that may be drawn or forced into the chamber, as through the pipes m. (Sec Fig. l.) It is obvious that in place of the fire-box, as shown, gas-jets may be used for heating the pit and parts of the mold preparatory to casting. The inner surface of the runway may be built up of sections of pipe or fire clay, or similarly protected against the mass of molten metal that flows through t-he runway.

Themolten metal is admitted, preferably,

i through the several runways into the flask at the same time, and an advantage of the peculiar arrangement of the runways is, as I have shown and described, 4that they cause a swirling or rotary movement of the molten metal as it forms about the tube or core-piece, and this makes the grain of the metal assume a spiral form in the mass of the cannon.

The main advantage of the use of the sheetmetal jacket h is that a gun is produced in the rough more nearly of the required size, the thin metal jacket being easily turned oft' or removed in the process of iinishing the gun; and a further advantage of this feature is that the gases formed in the sand are excluded from the heated metal of the casting by this sheet-metal jacket or mold-lining, and a further advantage is that by its use it is easy to centralize the steel tube or core in the mass preparatory to casting the gun.

There is a clear advantage gained in the method of cooling by the introduction of fluids from below the mass and forcing them in a stream up through the steel tube that forms the center of the gun, as an improved effect is thereby gained. It affords means for tempering the mass of the gun either by the use of water as the cooling-fluid or of oil.

rIhe core-piece or tube is at its lower end coupled to a pipe, d2, through which oil or water is forced through the core or tube, while the upper 'end of the latter is coupled to a pipe, d3, that leads the fluid to any desirable outlet.

The abovedescribed apparatus for casting heavy ordnance or guns may be equally well applied to the casting of heavy columns or like articles of metal.

While I prefer to use, as above shown, the sheet-metal jacket h to define the outside of the gun, I do not limit myself thereto. 'Ihe outside may be made of the flask I, lined with baked molding-clay, and this clay mold lined with a tire-proof coating without the sheetmetal jacket. For this purpose I bolt together flask consists, and separatelyline each of these sections, so that when they are finally fitted together the lining will define the outside of the gun.

I claim as my invention- 1. In combination with the pit, the basepieces centered on the hollow stud, the hollow bolt, the steel core-piece, the brace at the top of the pit that supports the upper end of the core-piece, and the sheet-metal form or mold lining, all substantially as described.

2. In combination with the pit having the gun-casting supports, the sectional flask and runways that are composed of lengthwise and lateral sections interlocked and bolted together, all substantially as described.

3. In combination with the pit having the central man-hole and its approachunder the center of the gun-casting, thel supporting platesl with central opening, the stud d, ittedl within the central opening of the supportingplates, the hollow bolt that unites the plates, the steel tube that forms the center of the gun, the brace that extends across the top and supports the upper end of the said tube, and the look-nut or coupling whereby the said IOO v the parts of which each horizontal section of the IlO tube is removably secured to the base-plate and the removal from the pit of the gun after it has been cast is provided for, all substantially as described.

4. The casting-pit herein described, consisting of the outer mason-Work, the metallic lining, and the annular nre-box M, arranged at the base of the pit, and having draft-pipes m, substantially as described, and for the purpose stated.

5. The casting-pit herein described, consisting of the base-pit B, the outer mason-work, the metallic lining to the mason-Work, the annular nre-box M at the base of the pit, and the base pieces or plates c o', adapted to support the flask, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a casting-pit having a metallic lining and a floor to support the flask, of a sectional flask and runways, and the lateral brace-pieces Z, formed with a curve or bend, l, whereby the expansion of the flask is provided for, substantially as described.

7. The flask for casting ordnance herein described, consisting of the outer sectional parts, I, having interlocking annular grooves and projections, an inner metallic shell to form the outline ofthe mold and formed With runways at its base leading through the packing and the outer shell, a packing between the outer and inner shells of the ilask, and a base-piece to support the shells and packing, substantially as described.

RICHARD J. GATLING.

Witnesses:

W. E. SIMoNDs, A. B. JENKINS. 

